Narayangad Fort

Overview:

Narayangad fort is around 80 km away from Pune on Nashik road. Located 10 km east of Narayangaon on the way to Khodad village. The fort is not visited much. This fort lies on a distinct hill not belonging to any range.

It is easy to climb the Fort as it takes around twenty minutes.

History:

The fort is from the Satvahana era and used as a watch point for the Junnar- Paithan route. The first Peshwa Balaji Vishvanath rebuilt this fort in the year 1714-1720 and give it to Sayaji Povar as a saranjam or service-grant. In the last Maratha war of 1818, Narayangad was captured by the British.

Places to Visit on Fort:

It takes about 10 minutes to reach the rock-cut steps from the base village temple of Mukaidevi and a further 10 minutes to reach the fort. There are two small hills at the entrance of the fort to either side of the doorway.

The temple of Goddess Hastamata is on the left hill and there is a properly marked route to the temple as it is often visited by the villagers. Towards the temple there is a small descending path to the left which takes us to the rock-cut water tanks.

Heading back to the original temple route and walking further there is are remnants of a mansion (Sadar / Wada). Below the top edge of the newly built temple, there is the ancient temple. The main hall of the temple is about 4 feet (1.22 meters) high and has a stone carving of Tandala and an idol of Goddess Hastamata.

How to reach:

Buses are available from Narayangaon to khodad village.

At 9 km distance on this route there is a junction from where the straight road goes to Khodad village and the road to the left goes to the base village of Mukaidevi temple via Gadachiwadi village. Narayangaon to Mukaidevi temple on this route is 10.5 km. If we get down on the junction by taking a bus from Narayangaon to Khodad, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the base village temple.

Related Video (Narayangad Fort):

The Best time to visit:

Any time you can visit the Fort.